In this series we have defended Israel's right to nationhood and sought to counter unwarranted bias against her from the world. We have also argued from the Bible for Israel's ongoing place in God's covenant. In this, the final article in the series, we will look ahead in a positive way to God's purposes for Israel in the 'end times'. There are many passages in the Bible that are relevant to this topic - we will take a small selection to support our point of view.

Israel: A Prophetic Sign

The re-gathering of Israel to their ancient Land is a signpost to the end times. Luke quoted the following words of Jesus, referring to the fig tree as an end times parable:

Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near. So also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. (Luke 21:29-31)

The budding of a fig tree would have had meaning to those to whom Jesus was speaking. They would have known that it referred to Israel and would have foreseen a strengthening of the nation at some future time, after the 'times of the Gentiles' (Jesus had also said that Jerusalem would be trampled by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled (Luke 21:24)).

Therefore, one of God's central purposes in re-gathering Israel is as a sign that times are shortening for the Gospel to go out into the entire world – the central aspect of God's times of the Gentiles.

Jerusalem: Centre of Global Attention

The reclaiming of Jerusalem is part of God's promised purpose for Israel in preparation for the return of Jesus the Messiah (Yeshua HaMashiach, the King of the Jews) (see Luke 21:24, also Isaiah 2:1-3).

This sign will accompany the great shaking of the nations foretold by Jesus and the Prophets (for example, Haggai 2:21-23) – another aspect of the times of the Gentiles that will increase in severity with time.

God's Eternal Covenant with Israel

All this should be no surprise because God emphasised his unbreakable eternal purposes for Israel when the New Covenant was announced to Jeremiah:

This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God and they shall be my people. (Jer 31:33)

Jeremiah's prophecy was given in the context of judgment on Israel and exile from their land, but there was also the certainty of their return in New Covenant days (e.g. Jer 31:37). A major sign in Israel is the increase of numbers of Messianic believers, both in the Land of Israel and around the world, since 1948.

Sign of God's Faithfulness

Israel's future under the hand of God is ultimately dependent on his faithfulness. Israel's very existence in our day is a sign of God's faithfulness and reminds us that he is uncompromising - both in his promises and in his warnings.

Jesus made these things clear in relation to the entire fulfilment of end time prophecy, when he said that "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away" (Luke 21:33).

Israel Beloved by God

Israel, then, is a sign of the times. But God is not unfeeling, simply to use them as a sign and no more – he cares about the nation that he called through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and put at the centre of his covenant purposes.

Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands... (Is 49:15-16).

God will ensure that his love for Israel will be made manifest in a remnant who will be saved in the last days. The nail-pierced hands of Jesus are a sign and seal of his great love and sure salvation. We wait for the final fulfilment of this promise for Israel above all other things we see in these troubled times in the Middle East.

From Tribulation to Glory

Though he has been rejected by many of his own people over the centuries, the truth remains that Jesus (Yeshua) died for the sins of his people, to whom he came first. As the Apostle Paul said, both judgment and glory were "first to the Jew" (Rom 2:9-10). Surely then, the greatest expectation for re-gathered Israel is fulfilment of the New Covenant promise of salvation through faith in Jesus.

We know that this will involve great tribulation. The Prophet Daniel foresaw this (Dan 12:1-3). Jesus did not compromise the prophecy of a time of tribulation coming upon the entire world, out of which salvation would come to Israel. It would be this pressure that will bring about repentance and herald the return of Jesus. This is implied by the statement:

For I say to you, you shall see me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord'. (Matt 23:39)

This reference is from Psalm 118:26, a Messianic psalm which points to the One who brings salvation to Israel. After days of trouble (sadly these will be needed to turn people's hearts), Jesus will be accepted as the true Messiah by many in Israel. God will not give up - whatever it takes - to bring to completion the covenant promise to Abraham, fulfilled in Jesus.

The Fig Tree Budding – a Sign of Authority to Interpret Torah

The parable of the budding fig tree is in one sense a sign of Israel coming to fruitfulness - but it is also a parable relating to the authority of Israel to interpret the Torah.

An illustration of this is in John 1:48. When Jesus called Nathaniel to be a disciple he said that he saw him under a fig tree. Fig trees are broad-leaved and afforded shade for Bible students – those serious about seeking true interpretation - to meditate on Scripture or discuss what they had been taught by their rabbinical school. 'Under the fig tree' can be metaphorical for standing under the authority of the Scriptures.

Thus, the budding fig tree in Jesus' parable could also be a metaphor of Israel re-gaining authority to accurately interpret Scripture. We see this in the growing contribution of some Messianic Jews who are equipped to help Christians from the Gentile world reclaim their ancient heritage in the Torah.

One New Man

In the end times, God will be working on more than one front. God's purpose for Christians in the Gentile world is restoration to the deeper roots of their faith. The re-gathering of Israel affords an opportunity for Christians to fulfil their mandate to stand with Israel (Is 40:1-3) and, through the help of Messianic Jews in particular, to return to these deeper roots.

The vision of the One New Man (Eph 2:15, Rom 11) will be fulfilled as the end times proceed, Jew and Gentile becoming one in the faith. A picture of Christians' dependency on Jews for strengthening in these days is given in Zechariah 8:23:

In those days ten people from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, 'Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you'.

Continued Bible Study Needed

Many of the prophecies pointing to Israel's role in the end times are mystical and subject to interpretation as they are fulfilled, especially those in the Book of Revelation.

For example, we can understand the central promise of 144,000 from the Tribes of Israel (Rev 7:1-8, 14:1-5) as being a confirmation of the promise that Israel will have a special place in the end times, as an identifiable nation, with a remnant saved through faith in Jesus the Messiah (Yeshua HaMashiach). However, some aspects of what is meant by the 144,000 from all the Tribes of Israel – who they are and how God will use them - remain a mystery that will unfold in the future.

This requires us to watch and pray as the days go by. These are troubled times, but we must look beyond politics to find God's end time purposes for Israel. The troubles in the Middle East will be seen to have purpose beyond physical struggle for survival. Israel will have a prominent position in God's end time purposes, no less than heralding the return of Messiah, and being part of the final preparation of the world for that great day.

Europe Shakes as Israel Stands Firm

There were 11 million Jews living in Europe when World War II broke out in 1939. By the time the conflict ended six years later, there were just five million left. The rest had perished in Hitler's gas chambers. Europe had been a refuge for Jews since the Romans destroyed the Holy Land in 135 AD, but their history here is one of almost continual persecution.

After the Holocaust, however, Jews were at last able to find true refuge back in their own ancient land. Yet still Europe remains largely aloof and unfriendly, in spite of the fact that Jewish people have contributed so much to Western civilisation. Still European powers try to force their will on Israel, as with the recent Paris peace initiative, calling on the nations to discuss Israel's future without involvement of the parties concerned – that is, the Jewish state and the Palestinian Authority.

Misguided Peace Efforts

Europe wishes to impose a peace deal on the Israelis and Palestinians, convinced by rhetoric claiming that a resolution to the issue will end global terror. Instead of addressing the raging civil war in Syria along with the carnage wreaked by Islamic State and the threat to world peace posed by Iran (the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism), the French summit chose to focus on Israel (I suspect that the divine answer to this ploy has already come in the form of the dreadful floods we have witnessed in France and Germany, followed by a serious crack in the stability of the EU caused by Britain's exit).

Israel's position remains unchanged: "Peace with the Palestinians will be achieved only through two-way, direct negotiations without preconditions", according to a Foreign Ministry statement.¹

Crucially, EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini recently stressed that they do not recognise Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, whereas it is widely understood that for Israel to give up this territory would be suicidal. We would likely have ISIS flooding into Israel and the results could be far more extreme than what we have experienced since withdrawing from Gaza.²

The EU, Israel and Britain

Clearly Europe is experiencing great turbulence – in danger of being swamped by Muslim refugees, under increasing threat from Islamic terror and facing the potential for financial meltdown as economies are set on a downward spiral. And I believe that this is not unconnected with its unhelpful attitude to Israel.

For years the EU has been pumping money into the PA for no visible return. There is little evidence of Palestinians being lifted out of their poverty, or of the emergence of an infrastructure on which a future state can be built. The rotten harvest of billions of dollars in aid is seen only in the ongoing violence encouraged by Palestinian media and educational institutions. What sort of crazy investment is this? It's like pouring petrol on a barbecue. And taxpayers in Britain have been part of this murderous exercise.

I noticed that a senior Israeli analyst had expressed hopes of Britain remaining in Europe because of her modifying influence on attitudes to Israel.³ But another group encouraged expatriates to vote Leave.

Various Israeli ministers have said they would like to see Israel in the EU, but this is not likely to become reality, though the Jewish state is a member of many European transnational federations and frameworks and takes part in a number of European sporting events.⁴

As I cast my vote in the referendum, I thought of the long-held view of many Christians that the EU is the incarnation of the blasphemous Beast of Revelation that will seek to draw worship away from God to itself. We know from the various treaties marking progress toward a unified Europe – Rome, Lisbon, Maastricht – that our Creator has been completely left out of its constitution, in sharp contrast to the unwritten constitution of Great Britain based on the Magna Carta and the Coronation Oath specifically committed to democracy and the Protestant faith.

David Cameron, to his credit, is responsible for calling the Referendum which has (hopefully) got us out of this God-defying syndicate despite him personally campaigning to stay in, and is described by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu as "a true friend of Israel and the Jewish people. Throughout his premiership the security, economic and technological cooperation between the United Kingdom and Israel has greatly expanded."⁵

Also under Mr Cameron, Britain began drafting laws outlawing the boycott effort against Israel and he has allocated an extra £12 million toward protecting Jewish communities.

Following the Referendum result, British Ambassador to Israel David Quarrey said: "The relationship between Britain and Israel will not change significantly. Britain will be friends with Israel both within the EU and outside it, but Israel's relations with the EU in the future will have to be determined without Britain as a mediator."⁶

Brussels and the Palestinian Authority

The gullible nature of the godless bureaucrats in Brussels is perfectly illustrated by the standing ovation given to a speech by PA leader Mahmoud Abbas in which he claimed that a group of rabbis had called on Jewish settlers in the West Bank to poison the Palestinian water supply. I note that this was the very day (23 June) the EU was shaken to its core by the British vote to withdraw from the union. Abbas subsequently retracted the accusations – which merely echoed a popular medieval anti-Semitic libel – after investigations by news organisations had concluded that it was entirely fabricated.⁷

In his speech to the European Parliament, Abbas also made the ludicrous claim that "there will be no more terrorism in the Middle East or elsewhere in the world" once the Israeli "occupation" ends.⁸ And yet he won rapturous applause! What does this say about the spiritual state of Europe?

This is all part of the PA's manipulative plan of gradually achieving statehood while side-stepping direct negotiations with Israel, a ploy which has won increasing support from EU nations. Whereas Phase 1 of the so-called 'Roadmap Peace Plan' demanded Palestinians recognise Israel's right to exist in the region, renounce terror against the Jewish nation, dismantle terrorist organisations, and end all forms of anti-Israel incitement in their media and school system - none of these requirements have been put into action.

If Israel Goes Down, We All Go Down

Reflecting on the Holocaust in an article originally said to have been published in a Spanish newspaper in 2008, Sebastian Vilar Rodriguez wrote: "Europe died in Auschwitz...We killed six million Jews and replaced them with 20 million Muslims. In Auschwitz we burned a culture, thought, creativity and talent. We destroyed the chosen people, truly chosen, because they produced great and wonderful people who changed the world."⁹

He said Muslims had brought religious extremism and death by blowing up trains (a reference to the Madrid bombings committed by Al Qaeda) whereas the Jews that Europe had murdered had pursued nothing but life and peace. "The Jews do not promote the brainwashing of children in military training camps, neither do they hijack plans, kill Olympic athletes [a reference to the Munich massacre of 1972], or blow themselves up in German restaurants. And there is not a single Jew who has destroyed a church. Nor have their leaders called for jihad and death to infidels [non-believers]."¹⁰

And it is worth noting that former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar has urged support for Israel on the basis that "if it goes down, we all go down" (is that what's happening now?).¹¹ Aznar argues that the Jewish state is at the cutting edge in the battle between militant Islam and the West and, in a Times article, concludes: "Israel is a fundamental part of the West which is what it is thanks to its Judeo-Christian roots. If the Jewish element of those roots is upturned and Israel lost, then we are lost too. Whether we like it or not our fate is inextricably intertwined."¹²

Notes

1 Keinon, H. Israel slams EU backing of international peace conference. Jerusalem Post, 21 June 2016.
2 Soakell, D. Watching Over Zion report, Christian Friends of Israel, 23 June 2016.
3 Oded Eran, senior analyst at the Institute for National Strategic Studies in Tel Aviv, told reporters: "It is preferable for Israel that Britain remain in the EU, where it is a voice of moderation in favour of Israel." (David Soakell, ibid).
4 See note 2.
5 JPost Staff, Lazaroff, T. Netanyahu hails Cameron as 'true friend of Israel' after British PM resigns. Jerusalem Post, 24 June 2016.
6 Jerusalem News Network, 26 June 2016.
7 Abbas retracts charge that rabbis called for poisoning of Palestinian wells. Jerusalem Post, 25 June 2016.
8 Lazaroff, T, Keinon, H. Netanyahu slams Abbas 'blood libel' as he flies to Rome in new diplomatic push. Jerusalem Post, 23 June 2016.
9 Gardner, C. Peace in Jerusalem. olivepresspublisher.com, p191.
10 Ibid
11 Support Israel: if it goes down, we all go down. The Times, 17 June 2010.
12 Ibid.

Embrace the hot potato – and sack the chef!

The hot potato that is Israel is even affecting what we can buy in our shops as the political, economic and institutional isolation of the country spreads across the world.

The so-called Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement is a campaign to delegitimise and demonise Israel in the guise of bringing economic pressure on the country. But its real aim "is to bring down the state of Israel", according to California State University professor As'ad AbuKhalil, who added: "Justice and freedom for the Palestinians are incompatible with the existence of the state of Israel."¹

Originating in 2009 with the so-called 'Kairos' document as a form of 'Palestinian Liberation Theology', and supported by some church denominations and even liberal Jewish groups, it has won the backing of many professors and students, and has been boosted by accusations of Israel being an 'apartheid' state. So it's based on a lie (dealt with in two parts earlier in this series) and, for that reason alone, Christians should have nothing to do with it.

It has also been shown to harm the Palestinians – on whose behalf BDS campaigners are allegedly fighting – as much, if not more than, the Israelis, as they rely heavily on Israel for jobs. When the pressure of an economic boycott is applied, employment is lost and Palestinian poverty increases.

Based on a Lie

The BDS protest has spread rapidly through university and college campuses where gullible young students have been quick to express their radicalism by taking up this ill-informed political stick with which to beat the Jewish state.

Companies initially targeted for doing business with Israel were Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard and Motorola Solutions, but what Dr Theresa Newell describes as a "pernicious" movement "also affirms a fantasy that Christian peacemakers have long embraced – that the fighting will miraculously come to an end once Israel ends the occupation."²

In a paper on the subject, Dr Newell quotes John Lomperis, who ended his statement urging the United Methodist Church against adopting the boycott by saying: "The push to divest from companies doing business with Israel is fundamentally unjust, factually misinformed, morally inconsistent, and out of touch with much of our grassroots membership and our North American mission field."³

An earlier generation of students, including myself, perhaps rightly exercised their indignant fervour against genuine apartheid in South Africa. But in Israel, Arabs and Jews have equal rights, travel on the same buses, debate with each other in parliament, and both hand down sentences in the courts. A Jewish friend of mine has just had his case heard by an Arab judge, and reports that he was very fairly treated!

So it's clear that this movement is not dealing with reality, but is a thinly disguised form of anti-Semitism. The economic sanctions meted out to South Africa during the apartheid era may well have been fair, despite the hypocrisy of some nations where injustice was at least as bad. But in Israel's case, truth itself is the victim as propaganda a-plenty is spewed out by politicians and the media.

Judgment is the Lord's

Israel is not perfect, and its authorities make mistakes, but we – as followers of the Jewish Messiah – are called to pray for them (Ps 122:6), bless them (Gen 12:3) and proclaim the good news of the One who came "first for the Jew, then for the Gentile" (Rom 1:16). If we are concerned over their unrighteous behaviour, have we prayed? Have we been quick to defend them against growing hate crime? Have we taken opportunities to share the life-transforming message of Jesus with them? They need him as much as we do.

Tragically, many Christians have been quicker to pick up the mood of the world's media than the mind-renewing lifeblood of the cleansing word of God. St Paul's admonition to the Romans shouts across the centuries to this generation: "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will" (Rom 12:2).

In the same chapter we are also urged not take revenge against those we perceive to have harmed us or someone else. "'It is mine to avenge; I will repay', says the Lord" (Rom 12:19). We are to bless, not curse. And remember, Jesus said that with the measure we use to judge others, so it will be measured out to us (Matt 7:2). Placard-bearers should listen, for God will judge you on the same basis that you judge Israel. Do you harbour injustice in your heart? Do you hate your enemy? The Lord will hold you to account for your shortcomings in the very areas which you perceive to be Israel's sin.

And besides, would you also ban the Bible – for it is Israel that gave us this precious treasure? They also gave us Jesus, the Saviour of the world. And are you willing to give up your mobile phone and computer, for Israel has been at the helm of the development of such new technology? Even the gramophone and record, through which the age of mass entertainment found its first global medium, was invented by German-Jewish emigrant to the USA Emil Berliner.

BDS Harms Palestinians Just as Much

Additionally, BDS harms the Palestinians as much as, if not more than, the Israelis. For example, more than 400 Palestinians lost their jobs when Israeli company Sodastream was forced by the campaign to close its factory in the West Bank and move south to the Negev.

"We don't know what we are going to do," says Mahmoud Jerdat, who has worked there for seven years. "In the Palestinian territories the economy is at rock bottom...I have four children and I need the job with this company."⁴

Israel Today editor-in-chief Aviel Schneider comments: "Ironically, the victims of the blind hatred of the BDS are the very Palestinians whom the movement has vowed to protect."⁵

The boycott also threatens the livelihoods of Arab agricultural workers in Israel. Switzerland's biggest supermarket chain has taken Israeli potatoes off its shelves in response to BDS – and specifically through the influence of Muslims living in or near the French part of the country. This is according to a vegetable producers' sales manager who said that, until recently, there had been a great demand for Israeli products due to their availability and quality.⁶

Encouraging Counter-Movement

But there is an encouraging counter-movement in progress. In the US, New Jersey has become the latest of 21 states to have agreed anti-BDS legislation, prohibiting the investment of public employee retirement funds in companies boycotting Israel.⁷

And I'll let film star Helen Mirren have the last word. Speaking at a press event in Jerusalem, the Oscar-winning British actress sang the praises of Israeli artists, adding that she firmly rejects the boycott campaign: "The artists of the country are the people you need to communicate with and make a relationship with and learn from and build upon. So I absolutely do not believe in the boycott, and here I am."⁸

Mirren, who is not Jewish, was in Israel to present the Genesis Prize (a type of Jewish Nobel Prize) to Israeli-American violinist Itzhak Perlman. Her first trip to the nation was in 1967 when she spent time working on a kibbutz.⁹

Notes

1 Resisting the longest hatred, by Clifford D May, Washington Times, 26 May 2015. Quoted by Dr Theresa Newell, USA Chairman of the Church's Ministry among Jewish people (CMJ), in her paperWhat is BDS? CMJ USA.

2 Dr Theresa Newell, referring to the Kairos document which spawned the BDS movement in her paper BDS: How did it all begin? CMJ USA.

3 Faith & Freedom, December 2015, p13, quoted by Dr Newell in the above-mentioned paper.

4 Israel Today, May 2016.

5 Ibid

6 Dov Eilon, Israel Today, July 2016.

7 New Jersey passes legislation prohibiting anti-Israel BDS. Jerusalem Post, 28 June 2016.

8 Helen Mirren Slams BDS, Supports Israel. Bridges for Peace, 27 June 2016.

9 Ibid.

Having increased its population tenfold since its re-birth in 1948, Israel must have something special to pose such a big draw. Its current 8.6 million inhabitants, squeezed into a tiny strip of land the size of Wales, is made up of over six million Jews and nearly two million Arabs.

The Land of Milk and Honey

A significant proportion of the growth has come through immigration, with Jews making aliyah (returning home) from all parts of the world, in fulfilment of ancient biblical prophecies (see questions 7 and 8 in this series).

For many it is a sacrifice, as the cost of living is high. And although the nation has rapidly developed into a high-tech world leader in many spheres of the economy, there are also poor people struggling to make ends meet, especially among Holocaust survivors.

It is a heady mix of contrasts – of tension and strife on the one hand, and of peace and happiness on the other. On my visits to Israel, I was somewhat surprised to discover that the place exudes a unique atmosphere that is truly extraordinary, wonderful and other-worldly. I suddenly understood why Jerusalem is called the "city of the Great King" (Ps 48:2) and, as I meditated on the words of Isaiah while awaiting a lift from friends, I realised what Jesus must have meant when he said that if the disciples didn't shout 'Hosanna', the very stones would praise him (Luke 19:40).

No wonder Jerusalem has been a place of God-ordained pilgrimage for thousands of years - a fact that will continue to be the case in the future (Zech 14:16-19). Surely this is why such a gigantic battle rages over the city, and over Israel itself. It's a very special piece of God's real estate.¹

What Goes Unreported

Left-wing media would have you believe Israel is an apartheid state, but in reality it's a beacon of democracy in an ocean of darkness and oppression. On the whole, Jews and Arabs live together peacefully, but against this background there are a significant minority of Islamic fundamentalists wishing to stir up trouble. Most of them do so because they were brought up to hate Jews – through Palestinian education and media output – rather than because they feel discriminated against. In fact, Arabs have equal rights with Jews, are represented in the Knesset (parliament) and also hold key posts in the police, army, judiciary and diplomatic service.

What's more, the mainstream media generally fail to report that many Palestinian Arabs and other Muslims actually prefer Israeli rule to that of Hamas or the Palestinian Authority, and acknowledge that Israel, for all its faults, offers them more freedom and opportunity than can be found in most other parts of the Middle East.²

For example, when Palestinian rule of East Jerusalem seemed a distinct possibility in 2000, the Israeli Interior Ministry reported a substantial increase in citizenship applications from Arabs in that part of the city wishing to escape.³

Mahdi Majid Abdallah, a Kurdish writer, has acknowledged that "unlike the terror organizations, Israel is a democratic state, not an aggressive one, and is characterised by freedom of worship and speech and a culture of peace and enlightenment".⁴

Yet terror attacks continue on a daily basis – knifing, shooting, rock-throwing, firebombs – and much of it goes unreported, especially if no injury is caused. I witnessed one incident that could have turned nasty, when an Arab repeatedly provoked a group of Orthodox Jews who were apparently minding their own business walking down the pavement of a main thoroughfare. Thankfully, the Jewish group refused to take the bait, trying hard to ignore him.

Threats and Tensions

But despite constant tensions within and threats from without, Israel is clearly 'home' to its citizens, who nevertheless feel an element of safety because they are among their own people and very well protected by the Israeli Defence Force, who are on perpetual alert for trouble. At the same time, Israelis live in constant fear of attack from terror groups Hamas and Hezbollah, who have thousands of rockets at the ready, while Islamic State operatives roam Syria, Jordan and the Sinai desert, their flag having also made ominous appearances within the Palestinian territories. Worse still, arch-enemy Iran continues unhindered in its development of a nuclear capability.

All this, and yet there's a tangible sense of God's peace about the place (Jerusalem means City of Peace) while Israelis are also among the happiest people on earth, according to a recent survey⁵ and as evidenced by the constant round of music, dance and light festivals held throughout the year, especially in Jerusalem.

Jewish people always seem to be celebrating; perhaps because they don't know what tomorrow may bring, so they are living for the moment. It is good, in one sense, that they are not intimidated into retreating behind closed doors in the face of such hostility - but not if it means they are "casting off restraint", which is what happens when people have no revelation of God's truth (Prov 29:18).

The latter condition is reflected by the fact that a massive 200,000 people joined a Gay Pride march through Tel Aviv, Israel's largest city, now known as the 'gay capital' of the Middle East. In the eyes of some Christians, this is proof that God has rejected them. But it's nonsense, of course. It is true that, as a nation, they have become as secular as the rest of us. But that in itself does not disqualify them. How many times in the ancient past did they disobey God? Yet he has never abandoned them, but has loved them with an everlasting love (Jer 31:3).

Hope for Harvest

Israel is surrounded by enemies on all sides, and many of its citizens are living in sin and outright rejection of God's commands. But still his loving arms are outstretched towards them, just as when the prodigal was reduced to feeding on pigs' swill. When the situation looked bleakest, and all hope seemed lost, he decided to return to his Father, who ran towards him and threw a party for his long-lost son, while the elder brother (the Church?) skulked in the background, self-righteously bemoaning the fact that his younger sibling had squandered his inheritance while he had slaved away ritually going through the motions of religious observance.

Today we are witnessing the beginnings of a great end-time harvest of Jews discovering Yeshua (Jesus) to be their Messiah, fulfilling Zechariah 12:10 and Romans 11:26. One powerful online video testimony of how a Jewish man became a follower of Jesus has gone viral, with the number of viewers now approaching ten million. Mottel Baleston tells of his journey to faith as part of a series produced by Messianic group One for Israel in co-operation with Chosen People Ministries.⁶

Even Orthodox Jews, some of whom are still virulently opposed to 'missionary' activity, are opening up their hearts to the gospel. Israel is a dangerous, but exciting, place to live. It's where the battle of the ages will be wound up, where an unprecedented revival on a national scale will take place, and where Jesus will return in glory!

References

1 There is a tendency among some evangelical Christians to over-spiritualise references to land and other physical places God has created, but the Bible is clear that we have both an earthly and a heavenly inheritance.

2 E.g. see Safian, A. Deconstructing "Israeli Apartheid". Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America, 1 March 2012. Also Freedom House's Freedom in the World reports and Dershowitz, A. The Case for Israel. USA: Wiley, 2003.

3 Pipes, D. Hamas is Worse than Israel, Worse than Sharon. Middle East Forum, 13 April 2005 (updated 13 May 2016).

4 Ibid.

5 Israel 11^th happiest country in the world. Ynet News, 18 March 2016.

6 Jones, R. Millions Watch Testimony of Jewish Believer in Yeshua. Israel Today, 7 June 2015.